Germans might be the world champions of abbreviations. But as popular as they are, some people are against them: Rap band Fanta 4 complained about their widespread use, and clipping words was promoted by the Nazis.
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A selection of 10 creative German abbreviations
Germans are renowned for using a lot of abbreviations. Here's a pick which includes the classics, as well as a few unusual ones.
Image: Imago/D. Matthes
Vokuhila
Let's start with a classic from the 80s: Vokuhila, a widespread term for mullet, is a good example of the German language's affinity for syllabic abbreviations — using the first syllable of different words. In this case: "vorne kurz, hinten lang" (front short, back long). It's an official word in the German dictionary, but the debate as to whether it's "die" or "der" Vokuhila is still open.
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Oliba
Similarly, "Oberlippenbart" (a mustache, literally "top lip beard") is shortened to Oliba — but this abbreviation didn't make it into the dictionary yet. The Vokuhila Oliba is a time-honored combination (see previous picture), but even without a mullet you can also get creative with your facial hair, like these World Beard and Mustache Championship participants.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
FdH
This abbreviation refers to a German diet principle called "Friss die Hälfte," which simply recommends eating only half of what you'd usually ingest during a typical day. Realistically portraying the method, here's a stock photo of a woman laughing alone with two pieces of cake while her hands are tied with a measuring tape.
Image: Colourbox
Schnipo
Depressed by the diet? Schnitzel and Pommes (French fries) is what you need, right now. Don't waste words on the project: Use the abbreviation "Schnipo." And if you're still thinking about calories, you can always order a "Schniposa" and you'll get a side of a salad — or at least a lettuce leaf and half a tomato, as pictured.
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L.m.a.A.
Way before "Leck mich am Arsch" (lick my ass) was a punk hit in the 1980s, the phrase that's also known as the Swabian salute was immortalized by Goethe in "Götz von Berlichingen." And Mozart also composed a canon called "Leck mich im Arsch": His original text version only came to light in 1991, as his 18th-century publisher had modified the canon's dirty lyrics and title to "Let us be glad!"
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2ZKB
Back in the days when people had to keep the number of characters in classified ads to a minimum, Germans became really creative in describing apartments. People still use abbreviations such as 2ZKB ("2 Zimmer mit Küche und Bad": 2 rooms with a kitchen and bathroom) on large pieces of paper. There are over 100 more abbreviations related to real estate.
Image: Imago Images/R. Peters
FKK
Newcomers to Germany are always impressed by the country's relaxed attitude towards nudity. They then quickly encounter the name of a movement with a strong history that explains everything: FKK, for "Freikörperkultur," which translates to Free Body Culture, through which being naked in nature was promoted as an experience that was disconnected from sexuality.
Image: Imago/D. Matthes
AKK
Similar to the previous abbreviation, but the pictures accompanying them can hardly be confused. Succeeding Angela Merkel, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer became the leader of the Christian Democratic Union in 2018. Even Germans found her name a mouthful, and an abbreviation was quickly found: AKK. She also uses the three letters as her Twitter handle.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Schmidt
Waluliso
"Wasser-Luft-Licht-Sonne": water, air, light and sun. It was the pseudonym and motto of a Viennese peace activist whose eccentric style marked the city, and who didn't go unnoticed during state visits either, impressing Prince Charles and Lady Di or PLO chairman Yasser Arafat. Two years after his death in 1996, the Waluliso Bridge was created in an FKK area in Vienna, crossing the Danube River.
Image: TARS631
JWD
The abbreviation refers to "janz weit draussen," Berliner dialect to say "way out there," which means: in the middle of nowhere. Germans also describe it as the "Pampa" — borrowed from Spanish. In that language, it specially refers to the grassy plains of South America.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/D. Ochoa
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LOL, OMG, BTW, ILY, TBH, IMHO, YOLO or FOMO: People who aren't familiar with social media speak will probably have to google around to find out what some of those abbreviations mean.
Many people fear that the style popularized by text messages and tweets is ruining the English language. But if it's any consolation, the Germans have been doing it extensively for way longer, and it hasn't particularly threatened their language.
Bureaucratic jargon with a dark tradition
Trying to decode a bureaucratic document in Germany is often an extraordinary challenge — even for Germans. On top of the complicated sentence structures, the texts are loaded with cryptic abbreviations. When you encounter social media acronyms, at least you're usually just a click or two away from an explanation; that's not the case with those official letters from German government agencies.
Victor Klemperer's 'LTI' is a classic reference work
Through their exaggerated use of abbreviations, German bureaucrats might not realize that they are perpetuating a style associated with the country's darkest era: The Nazis were very keen on abbreviating terms, as linguist Victor Klemperer noted in his 1947 reference work on the way Nazi propaganda altered the German language. Even its title, LTI – Lingua Tertii Imperii: Notizbuch eines Philologen (published in English as The Language of the Third Reich), parodied the abbreviation mania they had. Read more:Why Germans love to complain about trains
A space-saving device?
But bureaucratic jargon is not the only place you'll find abbreviations in Germany. They are everywhere — and most of them obviously have nothing to do with the Nazis.
Of course, many German words are impressively long, so it makes sense to shorten them a bit. But some of the language's shortest words get the same treatment. You'll sometimes find the conjunction "und" (and) shortened to "u." Number of characters saved: 1.
The MfG drama
One of Germany's best-known pop-rap bands, Die Fantastischen Vier, criticized the inflationary use of abbreviations in the German language in their hit single from 1999, MfG. Before they rap a list of widespread abbreviations, a spoken intro states that what's about to begin "tells of the drama of an entire culture…"
The abbreviation MfG is a widespread form to sign off an email, abbreviating the formal greeting "Mit freundlichen Grüssen" (literally, "with friendly greetings"). Similarly, you'll often see VG, for "Viele Grüsse" ("many greetings") and LG, for the more intimate "Liebe Grüsse."
Even though it contains the word "love," the latter is not only reserved to lovers or close friends; the greeting also appears in emails to colleagues or even to strangers in "cooler" fields of work. If you're against writing the L-word, LG is definitely a useful alternative — although you should be aware that it's also the name of a South Korean electronics company.
The main argument behind those shortened greetings, of course, is that they save time. After all, if you are required to answer tons of emails every day, you need shortcuts. One obvious option would be to simply skip the sign-off in an email conversation, but for some reason, that happens more quickly in English than in German: A two-letter abbreviation still appears more polite than no sign-off at all.
Still, not everyone agrees with the time-saving argument, as one poem posted one the walls of a Berlin S-Bahn station reminds us:
"But what do you actually do
you nimble second-hoarders
with all the time you save by typing 'lg'
instead of kindly greeting?"
Best German abbreviations from AA to zZ.
Abbreviations are everywhere in the German language. This list might confuse you more than it will help you - but at least we've warned you.
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When AA stands for abbreviation affection
Germans love abbreviations, so you better get used to them if you want to learn the language and be able to decipher official documents. In many cases, the same letters can designate very different things. AA is not just the acronym for Alcoholics Anonymous but also for the "Auswärtiges Amt" (Foreign Office, see above), whereas a.A. means "auf Anfrage" (provided on request).
Image: Reuters/Saudi Press Agency
Feel free to use 'fr'
At some point, Germans really needed to shorten the long word "frei" (free): It can thus be written as "fr." - saving a grand total of one space, as one letter is replaced by the period. "Fr." also stands for "Frau" (Mrs.) and "Freitag" (Friday). Double that up and you get "Frfr." for "Freifrau" (Baroness). But don't get confused: The word "für" (for) is conveniently shortened to a single f.
Image: imago/mm images/Berg
It said something like 'gesch'
Understanding them all is like learning a whole new language: "gesch." means "geschieden" (divorced), but "ges.gesch." stands for the completely unrelated "gesetzlich geschützt" (patented); "geschr." abridges the word "geschrieben" (written); whereas "geschl." shortens "geschlossen" (closed). Whoever came up with that one forgot a way shorter word for "closed" already existed: "zu."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Karmann
KfzPflVV?
It looks like something from a speech bubble in a cartoon, but German bureaucracy is filled with mean abbreviations. This one stands for "Kraftfahrzeug-Pflichtversicherungsverordnung," the regulations surrounding the obligatory insurance of a car. Whether shortened or not, it just can't be simple. After all, cars are serious business in Germany!
Image: Fotolia/jörn buchheim
LG, those loving greetings
"LG" stands for "Landgericht" (District Court) but you'll find those two letters more regularly at the end of an email, as the abbreviation is also used for "Liebe Grüsse." This common way to close a message to friends literally translates as "loving regards," but is not reserved for intimate correspondence. "MfG" ("Mit freundlichen Grüssen," with friendly regards) is much more formal.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Ireland
M&M's are not just for candies
Notice that the capitalization of abbreviations follows the same rules used when the words are spelled out. So "m.M." or "m.M.n." means "meiner Meinung" and "meiner Meinung nach" (in my opinion), while a simple "mm" refers to millimeter in German, just like in English.
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'O' now I get it!
If the sun sets in the West, where does the moon disappear? A big "O" refers to "Ost" (east). A small "o." can mean "ohne" (without), "oben" (above) as well as "oder" (or) - though "od." can alternatively be used in this last case, too. Add an umlaut to that letter, and you get "ö." which means "öffentlich" (public). Easy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe
Go 'S' and see
You might need long holidays in a warm country with lots of books to further study these abbreviations. "S" is used for "Süd" (south). With an extra period, "S." stands for "Seite" (page) and a small "s." means "siehe" (see). See?
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That's 'SO' German
These will make you dizzy: "So" refers to "Sonntag" (Sunday), but "SO" is another cardinal point "Südost" (south-east). The abbreviation "s.o." stands for "siehe oben" (see above) while the popular "sog." is used for the expression "sogenannt" (so-called). So so.
Image: DW/R. Romaniec
An abbreviation is like a bad haircut
To give you a break from all those pairs of abbreviations, here's a classic one: "Vokuhila" comes from "vorne kurz hinten lang" (short in the front and long in the back), a popular hairstyle in the 80s. It's a good example of how many German abbreviations are formed: using the first two letters of each word.
Image: picture-alliance
Get your zzz's
To top it off, here's another versatile letter in the world of German abbreviations: "Z." can either be a "Zahl" (number) or a "Zeile" (line). A small "z." shortens another very long word, "zu" - which means in this case "to" or "at." This little "z." regularly introduces expressions like "z.B." ("zum Beispiel" - for example), "z..Z." ("zur Zeit" - at present) and many more. Are you snoring now?
